


Tequila Sunrise

by kittykimora



Category: The Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Supernatural Elements, Drunk Sex, F/M, French Kissing, Red Romance, Rough Kissing, Sexual Content, Sexual Tension, Supernatural Elements, Vampires, Witches
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-08-04
Updated: 2015-08-04
Packaged: 2018-03-09 08:39:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 12,898
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3243302
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kittykimora/pseuds/kittykimora
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In a world struggling to accept the existence of vampires into maistream society, witch Bonnie meets and falls for a rougue vampire with a hidden agenda. The story takes them from Havana's pink sunsets and glistening beaches to Morocco's wind-swept sand dunes and its beautiful souks. Pairings: Kennett, Klaroline, Stelena and Rebel</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Candela

#

Bonnie's flesh came alive in Havana, pulse throbbing around her throat and sweat pooling inside the hollow between her gleaming collarbones. Her white t-shirt stuck to her back, soaked and heavy in the muggy heat. The wet turned her tingling skin to magnet, everything stuck from the unfortunate ripped jeans she had decided to wear to the loose curls of her dark hair.

She watched as a couple of kids wriggled their way through a forest of chairs stacked firmly into the recess of a corner café. They giggled and hooted worming their way through the rosewood legs, their white frilled dresses and little blue suits soiled from their vigorous play.

It was the fourth of July, Independence Day back in the states and her father had probably already piloted a private jet to Martha's Vineyard for the summer but her mother was undoubtedly staying in Washington to work on high profile cases while her clients spirited off to their private islands. It's a good thing they divorced, Bonnie thought as she slugged back her third glass of red wine mixed with coke. The only thing her parents had in common was their Greek college system and their love for Rembrandt. Their devotion to their art was so strong that they were still fighting over several pieces long after their divorce. Bonnie sagged against the bright pink tarnished walls of shops and cafes hugging the narrow cobblestone streets. She could see the cathedral's gable behind stacks and stacks of green and pink buildings packed tightly onto each other as the wedding party poured out of its tall wide doors up steep narrow steps into the crumbling courtyard.

"Ok, I think that guy just had a moment with your ass" Caroline laughed nudging Bonnie with her elbow and motioning toward the crook of a rowdy café. Bonnie screwed her green eyes toward the damp heat of the café with rattling fans hanging from its thatched ceilings and patrons cackling, drinking and clapping for the passing wedding party. Eyes narrowed, she exhaled a long sharp breath when she saw the man Caroline was referring to. He was a tangle of dirty blonde hair, streaked golden by a burning Cuban sun and skin so tanned that it made his white linen shirt gleam against it.

Bonnie stared at him from across the crowded plaza as he slouched in his seat, one arm slung around the back of his wicker chair, the other hand cradling a glass of stiff rum. He seemed oblivious to the animated conversations around him, indifferent to the waitresses' fussing around him and continuously wiping his table with their tartan napkins. He merely stared at Bonnie through silvery metallic sunglasses that echoed the movement around the cafe. Shaking her head and fighting the rapid pounding against her chest, Bonnie grabbed Caroline's hand and jerked her forward so that they could keep moving.

"He was wearing sunglasses Caroline, "Bonnie finally exclaimed rolling her eyes as they continued their long sluggish trail up some spiralling narrow steps "You could see him stalking my ass through all that?"

They were trying to get a better view of the bride, or at least Elena was trying to view the veiled bride. The other two girls were more interested in the rooftop bar perched up on top of the flying stairway like Oz after trekking the long yellow rode. Bonnie couldn't care less what the bride looked like and after narrowly escaping her own nuptials back in DC; she didn't care much for weddings.

"He was definitely hot!" Elena panted lunging onto another step as rocks fell off beneath her stride. She paused to examine the soles of her beaded sandals and brushed off shingles of limestone that had stuck into their undulated surface "you think he could be one of those vampires?"

"What would a vampire be doing in Cuba, the hottest place on the globe?"

"There are tons of them in Mexico now, I saw them on that MTV special for EL dia de los Muertos," Elena huffed, leaning against the corroded wall, "that's day of the dead for you guys" she said smiling broadly, reminding the other two about her linguistics major.

"Hey, how come Washington doesn't have a day of the dead?"

"Because evil walks DC streets every night" Bonnie chuckled glancing over her shoulder.

"Vampire or not, dude was insanely hot" Caroline bit her bottom lip and closed her eyes momentarily.

"Yeah, I bet you he's a selfish prick and a liar" Bonnie responded wiping her arm across her sopping face and rousing the matted hair that had stuck to her forehead.

"Bonnie!" Caroline cautioned behind Elena's slight frame, huffing and struggling in her Jimmy Choo wedge sandals as she pulled back her flaxen hair into a sloppy ponytail.

"Being a douchebag transcends all languages," Bonnie continued, her heartbeat hastening dangerously with each laboured step "and races or whatever the heck vampires are if in fact he happens to be one but since we've established the fact that vampires do not exist in hot climates then-"she trailed off with a shrug of her sweaty shoulders.

"Admit it, he's cute and you felt something" Caroline insisted, cocking her head and shielding her eyes with both hands. Bonnie opened her mouth to retort, to lay out a winning argument and then her mobile phone droned inside her leather satchel. Pulling out the silver device from her packed bag, she groaned as it whirled and hissed in her hand before she finally padded across the touch-screen with her clammy fingers.

I MISS YOU; PLEASE DON'T GIVE UP ON ME…ON US

She read the text message then shut her eyes, pinching the bridge of her nose.

"Marcel?" Elena asked peering over Bonnie's right shoulder nearly bumping her off the reedy stairs.

"Come on, forget Marcel," Caroline laughed dragging them both up the steep, crumbling treads to the bar" The day is still young and we have too many tequila bottles to tackle!"

The three of them took a moment to stand there and marvel at the beauty of the place. With the sun high over the red-roof stippled horizon, Havana shimmered like yellow nutmeg and Bonnie recalled their first night in Cuba drinking copious amounts of nutmeg sprinkled pina coladas. Her eyes drifted to the ocean hemming in the jagged yellow of everything and she grinned taking it all in.

Old Havana was nothing like the glass front tapas bars in Washington DC where one could watch a jungle of neon lights peeking through lanky, bony rooftops while sipping a vintage red as old and illustrious as one's last name. Havana didn't care if the wine was rough on your tongue and the sun searing on your sunburnt back, she was not pretentious. She was as carefree as her cheap kalimotxos.

"To a reckless summer!" Caroline cheered slapping both girls on their bronzed backs.

xXx

Later that evening, guided by a bone-white moonlight and sputtering gas lanterns along the cobblestone streets, the girls hunted and found a sultry salsa club a mile from their hotel. They danced underneath human sized birdcages dangling from the ceiling, their stilettos beating a marble floor spangled with fallen feathers and glittering stars from showgirl's costumes. The club was congested, hot and swathed with mists of cigar smoke.

"Feliz dia de la independencia"

Bonnie whirled around to the warm voice tickling the back of her moist neck. Shards of flickering blue strobe lights fell on his muddy blonde hair and his face making his eyes appear deep violet under the blinking lights.

"Gracias" she yelled over the music, drumbeats mingled with the bloating of saxophones.

"You're an American" he said matter-of-factly.

"Yeah"

"Here, "he smiled handing her a rolled up joint, the sharp smell clogging her senses.

"What's that?"

"What does it look like?" he asked leaning closer to her ear, his scent taking over her head and weakening her knees.

"Trouble" she arched an eyebrow as she searched his face. Bonnie still couldn't tell what colour his eyes were as they were now striking her as puce, a colour that defied natural science.

"Everything is legal in Havana" he said placing a hand on her hip, it felt heavy like he had suddenly set the whole world there.

"Let me guess, you have an appetite for destruction?" she asked shrinking back against his heated touch.

"I have an appetite for adventure" he persisted, his eyes stalking her moving lips.

Gingerly, Bonnie took the rolled up piece between her thumb and index finger and examined the unbroken seams of its white wrapping. Glancing up at him, she slipped the joint between her lips and sucked like her life depended on it. Her eyes sprang open, the cough strangling her throat.

"How about a drink?" he chuckled over her deep coughs, snaking his arm around her waist as Bonnie pushed him back with a gentle pat on his chest.

"I already have one"

"I was proposing that you buy me a drink"

"Are you a local?" Bonnie asked tracing the rim of her champagne glass and observing the reflections cast by the orgy of gaslights and strobe lights inside the club. She noticed something else as she twirled the stem of the glass between her fingers, he had no reflection.

"What, you only buy drinks for Cubans?" he grinned cocking his head and his eyes seemed to turn into black pools like the Dead Sea. She shook her head laughing.

"You speak very good Spanish" she mused, suddenly intrigued by the prospect of what he was, what he could be.

"Todo suena major en espanol"

"Huh?"

"I said everything sounds better in Spanish" he explained playing with the Tiffany charm bracelet draped around her left wrist. His eyes were fixed on her face, drawn to the slack mouth that pulled him unconsciously with its ripe red colour.

"I know what you are" she said slowly studying the curious tint of his tan eyes.

"I should hope so" he sighed beckoning the barman with his finger.

"I don't think I'm allowed to talk to vampires"

"And I'm not allowed to play with my food but here we are, having a delightful conversation"

"I'm certainly going to enjoy you" he said hastily rushing for her hand and drawing it to his lips. Before they could brush her skin, Bonnie snatched her hand back from his grasp and turned on her heel.

"Where are you going?" he cried reaching out for her hand again.

"To find my friends" she replied hoarsely trying to pull away from him but he simply took both her hands in his, wrapping his warm fingers around them. He was surprisingly warm for a vampire, she thought as the heat mounted up her cheeks.

"Would you like to dance?" he asked playing with her long delicate fingers.

"Dancing with you would be like playing with knives" she said yanking her hands free from his grip.

"Dangerous?"

"Suicidal"

"You strike me as a risk taker"

"Is that code for people pleaser?"

"Curious little witches like you don't need to be people pleasers" he said capturing her hand and spiriting her off to the crowded dance floor. It was Bonnie's turned to be shocked, he knew what she was but of course he would have known-didn't vampires know everything? Before she could react or even utter a word she was in his arms on the dance floor and the liquor and smoke had begun to play wild and sultry tricks with her mind.

xXx

Bonnie swayed her hips like a punch drunk pendulum, drum beats hammering inside her chest. He tangled his hand in her tousled hair, the other hand sliding down her gyrating hips to drive their rhythm. She arched her sweltering back, her sleek thighs tangling with his strong legs. The thick steamy Havana heat intoxicated her, broke her out of her shell as she laughed into his ear.

She couldn't remember his name and she didn't care. Maybe it was the rum fuelled binge or the strong scent of tobacco snaking around the club but she wanted him to kiss her. She wanted this nameless creature with muddy blond hair and eyes that played filthy tricks with her mind to kiss her. Reliable, upright and uptight Bonnie Bennett wanted this swarthy agile man with the most tantalizing smile she had ever seen to take her home with him.

What had Caroline called it, living in the moment?

Stop being so careful Bonbon, stop playing it safe, Caroline had yelled at her hoping the yelling and the shaking would do her some good.

What had safe gotten her?

Sage had gotten her a Georgetown law scholarship in Washington DC. Safe had gotten her prestigious governor's son Marcel Gerard, the same Marcel who had cheated on her four days before their wedding.

Playing safe was a pain.

He was pulling her up when it happened, drawing her close to his searing heat.

"Your place or mine?" Bonnie breathed into his ear, taking the bull by the horns. Her voice was still husky from the afternoon's tequila binge with the girls. He spun her around, his arm snaking around her waist then she came full circle slamming against his hard chest. Bonnie gasped at the sheer force, her eyes meeting his for what seemed like the first time. They were brown, as clear as day or freshly distilled whiskey.

"No objectivar me encanta" he grinned winking at her.

"I didn't catch that," Bonnie slurred back, the vibrating hum of his voice titillating every single nook in her body.

"So you find me handsome?"

Cocky shit.

He could be as arrogant as he chose to be, she thought gripping her bottom lip in-between her teeth. She wouldn't need for conversation anyway. This would be physical, strictly physical. She could do that couldn't she? She could let go and just be a writhing, heated beast in sultry Havana. She could be as scandalous as she wanted to be, sprawled on a vampire's bed in Havana. It didn't get better than that as far as stick-it-to-you-ex-revenge-sex went. This would be the omega of paybacks.

"Relax darling, of course I'll give you what you need" He said cupping her face in his face. Bonnie groaned, her eyes falling to his succulent lips. He twirled her around again before the dirty thoughts in her head could take form and ravage his mouth. He moved behind her, rolling his hips in line with hers then he grabbed her throat from behind steering her face back to his before kissing her hard and deep. Somewhere in the back of her head, Bonnie knew she had to find Elena and Caroline in the bustling smoky club but she couldn't think straight. He swept his tongue over the curved contours of her lush lips, teasing the inside of her mouth. Bonnie groaned into his mouth tasting the sweet rum he'd consumed earlier and rolling her tongue over its fiery cinnamon spice.

Ye, it must be the rum. She couldn't think straight because of his hot rum soaked mouth.

"My place "he whispered, his teeth grazing the heated shell of her ear.

Bonnie grinned gathering the chiffon folds of her flimsy white dress and followed him down the narrow trails, the lantern lit archways into the sultry Havana streets.

xXx

"So, how does this usually work?" Bonnie asked, her trembling hands cupping his tight sweet ass. He pulled back, brown eyes dancing in the moonlight as his lips crooked into an amused grin.

"Well, "he began, his dimpled grin broadening "we usually undress first, kiss a few times before I put my-"

"I meant the whole no strings attached thing"

"How does it work?" he asked studying her long and hard as her fingers crawled back u to the back of his neck. She had absolutely no clue what do to with them.

"Yes, uhm….what're the rules?"

"Is this your first time darling?"

"No!" she cried, heat flaring up to her cheeks "I just thought that the rules might be different for uhm…different countries, you know" she stammered watching him undo the straps of her chiffon dress. Whatever little there was to it slid to the floor in a cloud of lust and the realization hit her, she was alone with a man he didn't know from a bar of soap. Her heart fluttered again, heat climbing up her stiff neck.

"Well, I hate to disappoint you darling but sex is a universal language"

"My body, " he whispered, his thick voice husky as his finger traced its way up her quivering inner thigh "and your body, they all speak the same language"

"Amor"

"Amor?" Bonnie repeated as if to test the authenticity of his practised line. She wondered how many girls he had used it on.

"Si, amor" he reiterated burying his fingers into her hair and catching her bottom lip between his teeth as she moaned into his ravenous mouth. She forgot, she forgot her argument again.

Dammit.

"What are the rules?" she exhaled pressing her hands against his hard, heaving, sweltering chest. She was desperate for a response, a way forward and some sort of contract detailing the consequences of her actions. Bonnie needed to know the rules so that she could figure out how to play them.

"Tell me to stop and I will "he said softly tracing her heated cheek with his thumb. His other hand was less chivalrous in its over-zealous seduction between the quivering things.

"I-uh-uhmm…just uh…" she stuttered trying to recall any and everything about how to control her body, how to regulate her emotions. She bit her lower lip and clenched her hips around him feeling everything that he was giving her. Bonnie had not known pleasure like this before, had no idea that it could be possible for a man to make her feel this way. Sense told her that her mind was playing tricks on her, logic told her it was the foreign air toying with her mind. Whatever it was, had her jumping in her bones, tweaking like a crazed addict and wanting whatever it was he was selling.

"Rule number one, "he said as he wrapped his lips around the stem of her right nipple, sliding it in and out of his hot mouth "there are no rules"

"Rule number two, "he murmured, his tongue whirling around her left nipple and fogging Bonnie's brain as she snaked her right leg around his lean hips "there are no rules"

"Rule number three," he drew back, "say it with me" he purred, his gaze washing over her as he slid inside her.

"There are no rules" Bonnie sighed dragging his head down until his lips brushed over hers, tongue chasing tongue.

xXx

Bonnie woke up alone.

Alone in his grimy, slanting apartment with moulted floors and shedding chili-red wallpaper. Her mouth tasted like ripe piss and her head hammered viciously. She had not been this hung-over since Spring-break freshman year.

Put your big girl panties on Bonnie. Slip them on and suck it up, she thought tumbling out of his small rumpled bed. She made a quick body inspection for any teeth marks, missing lungs, kidneys, and discovered that she was wearing his shirt. It was old denim and frayed at the hem. Panic set in as she feverishly looked for her dress around his room. She dug through his dirty clothes strewn across the floor and stacks of newspapers methodically placed in the corners of the room. Eventually, she found it slung across a rotting sofa in a lounge scattered with black candle stubs. She didn't remember him lighting the candles for her but then again she didn't remember much from last night.

"Pretty girl! Pretty girl!"

Her muscles sprang as he turned to find his parrot inside a white birdcage hanging by an open window.

"Shit" Bonnie muttered crawling back into her bruised skin.

"Shit! Shit!" the parrot squawked flapping its azure wings. Bonnie bound for the door, her nag and heels in hand as his parrot continued its wild screeching calls.

"Kol got laid! Kol got laid!"

The narrow streets were swarming with a bustling morning crowd as she tied his denim shirt tighter around her waist in a feeble attempt to hide last night's dress. She ambled her way through the crumbling courtyard, stepping over party decorations sprinkled across the dusty yellow streets, kids playing glass marbles and shiny pink Cadillac's filled with keen tourists.

She scrimmaged through her purse for her phone; she had no idea what part of town she was in or how to get back to the hotel. What was clear to her though was that she was no longer in Old Havana and that this part of town was a different beast all together. She chastised Caroline for confiscating her trusted map of the city because it made her look lame. Lame was getting lost in a foreign country, lame was having her father teach her about responsibility again and lame was returning Marcel's countless phone calls and forgiving him.

She didn't like the trembling fear snaking up her spine. She was tired, hungry and her feet felt like pulverized meat in her six inch sandals. Terror set in when she saw the battery flashing, the dull red light of impending doom. She prayed for Caroline to pick up in two rings before she became another statistic in Cuba.

"If you're not dead yet, "Caroline yelled "I'm going to kill you myself!"

"I don't know where I am"

"What do you mean? "The blonde cried, a clamour of voices and honking traffic horns rising behind her "where's the guy you-?"

The sudden stifling silence told Bonnie that her battery was dead. She wouldn't panic; she told herself, she wouldn't scream in the middle of some dark street in the creepiest part of town. She'd hold it together.

The honking reminded her that Havana was crawling with taxis. Bonnie gave chase, yelling at an old red dodge depositing a customer outside a cafe crawling with sweaty domino players and a live salsa band.

"Hotel Saratoga, por favor "she commanded not waiting for him to respond just in case he decided to speed off and leave her in that desolate part of town.


	2. Eyes Wide Shut

Eyes Wide Shut

#

"Bonnie, the first rule of a hook up is that you call your friends before you exit the club" Caroline stated digging into a golden pile of creamy scrambled eggs. She chewed hastily, glancing up at Bonnie and washing the mouthfuls down with a glass of mojito.

"Especially in a foreign country," Elena added draining the last of her Cuba Libre, "hair of the dog," she said joggling the empty glass and licking her lips.

"I'm sorry," Bonnie shrugged her shoulders pushing a strand of hair behind her ear, "won't happen again" she said squinting at Caroline. Speedily she bolted her eyes against the stinging sunlight and buried her face in her hands.

"The guy could have turned out to be another Ted Bundy"

"Then I would've slept with Ted Bundy" Bonnie replied reaching out for a pitcher of fresh lime juice muddled with sugar and crushed ice. She was in no mood to tell them about the true nature of her conquest. The fact that he had turned to a vampire would remain her secret.

"Bonnie, this is serious!" Caroline's glowing cheeks turned ruddier and Bonnie wasn't sure if it was the effects of the early morning hair of the dog or irritation toward her erratic actions. Caroline combed a hand through her sleek blonde hair, tossing her head back in the process. Yes, it was the liquor, Bonnie decided as she noted the blonde's glassy blue eyes.

"I know" Bonnie rolled her eyes. Her stomach was still playing rum and tequila somersaults, the bile steadily creeping up her oesophagus.

She needed her bed now.

"And why didn't Mr Mcdreamy escort you home?"

"I suspect things work differently here in Cuba" she replied, catching the twinkling yellow label from a bottle of Veuve Clicquot at a nearby table. She watched as a waiter brought another bottle of Olmeca tequila to the same table and Bonnie emitted a painful groan. The table was filled with college kids about the same age as Bonnie and her friends, all hankering for a reckless summer in Havana.

"What happened?"

"I woke up and he wasn't there, no big deal" she shrugged her shoulders even though her heart was rattling inside her chest.

"The second rule of a hook-up is to at least get a cup of coffee in the morning"

"Actually," Elena began, "it's not rule. It's just etiquette.

"With me it's a rule" Caroline protested, picking at small slices of her salmon Carpaccio. She stabbed at the pink slivers and smothered them with fennel relish and sour cream.

"He should have at least left a post-"Elena began before Bonnie cut her off with a raised hand.

"You know what; I guess guys like him break those rules" she snapped at Elena as she made a grab for her purse. Breakfast had been a bad idea; breakfast with the mother of hangovers was Armageddon.

"But Bonbon "Caroline's jaw dropped, fingers slack around her glass.

"I'm going to bed"

She had no interest in discussing her tryst with the rogue vamp that had not even bothered to have the decency of waking up in the same room with her. Bonnie wanted to forget the whole thing ever happened. Trying to erase Marcel from her mind with revenge sex had certainly not helped. It had just bit her in the ass.

"Ok, cocktails at noon!" Caroline called cheerfully as Bonnie collected her things and scrambled to her feet.

xXx

Old Havana had a magic that bound you to her, it was especially clear in her pink sunsets when you could hear the cacophony of voices from the crowds in the canopied courtyards. Bonnie watched as the people tumbled into eroded jazz cafes like the glugs of glowing sangria poured into their ubiquitous wine glasses. This was when she fell in love with the historic city all over again. This was when she had no regrets about giving into her desires and sleeping with a total stranger on the first night.

She had absolutely no reservations about not replying to any of Marcel's countless messages attempting to explain his actions. Bonnie would never understand it, would never excuse him and she didn't want to. Everything they had built in the past two years was gone, vanished and all because he couldn't for one miniscule of a second keep it in his raging pants. He had cheated on her four days before their wedding with some faceless blonde and that was that.

There were bigger and better things in store for her; at least that's what her mother preached. Her father, Rudy was still hung up on losing the backing of a significant governor.

"To living in the moment!" Caroline yanked her from her thoughts with a clink of her glass as she toasted them. It had taken more than the expected three hours for her to feel less comatose and to ingest a morsel of food. Caroline and Elena had seemingly carried on the party without her with Elena suffering the consequences and having to sleep it off.

"Will Lena be okay?" Bonnie asked tasting the crisp sharp taste of white rum muddled with crushed ice and mint leaves.

"Yeah, she's just missing Stefan"

"Are we still passing through Miami on our way back home?"

"Yup, Stefan's sailing that side so Elena wants to see him before DC" Caroline explained, her blue eyes already drawn to a bronzed barman with curly dark hair across the room drawing cold beer from a tap.

"I believe you have something that belongs to me"

Bonnie startled at the voice before glancing over her shoulder. It was the filthy blonde trickster with eyes the colour of deliciously decadent scotch.

He had found her.

Her heart slammed so hard against her ribcage it damn near lodged up her throat.

"Oh, it's you" Bonnie said, a little sharper than she had intended. She hated the way the light frolicked around his wind-swept hair, loathed the dimple on his chin and the way his thin V-neck tee-shirt clung around his tanned shoulders.

"Well hello there!" Caroline grinned waggling her fingers at him.

"I don't believe we've met," he smiled kissing the back of Caroline's hand "the name's Kol"

"Caroline, "she smiled" will you be joining us?"

"He was just passing through"

"Actually, I don't mind if I do" Kol grinned collapsing into a vacant wicker chair opposite Bonnie.

"In that case, "Caroline beamed flying off her seat, "I'll get us more drinks"

"Caroline, there's no need. "He was just –"

"What's your poison?" Caroline deliberately ignored Bonnie as she grinned at Kol like the cat that had eaten a canary. Bonnie didn't have the heart to tell her friend that Kol preferred to have AB positive on tap or better yet, to gouge on the blonde's vein for blood.

"Surprise me" Kol winked up at Care and Bonnie's throat tightened.

"Tequila shots it is!" Caroline laughed strutting her way toward the barman she'd been ogling all afternoon.

"You have some nerve showing up here like this, "Bonnie hissed leaning closer to him when she was sure that Caroline was out of earshot "after leaving me in bed like a –like a cheap trick and now you show up here like this!"

"I'm the one who should be angry"

"Excuse me?"

"In fact I should be livid" he said digging into his pocket and throwing a scrunched up ball of paper on the table.

"What's that?"

"That's what you owe me"

"I owe you?"

"You're worse than my parrot" Kol winked picking up the balled up piece of paper and slowly unwrapping it.

"Chorizo and scrambled egg tacos for twenty pesos, "he glanced up at her "they were very goof tacos too"

"This, Bonnie is our breakfast bill, the breakfast you couldn't have been bothered to share with me"

"You weren't to buy me breakfast, is that why you left?"

"I went to buy us breakfast, us. Let's be clear on that"

"I thought you only fed on blood"

"I would have sat down with you on principle"

"Where you going?"

"Ladies room" she hissed through gritted teeth. As Bonnie stormed off huffing and puffing at the audacity of this animal, she realized that he was following her. Her pace hastened, weaving around the crowded tables and the live band wilting on the small canopied stage. As she arrived at the restrooms, her eyes darted between the two swinging doors and she bounded into the wide door labelled ladies slapping the wood with her palm. Rushing inside a stall, she slammed the door behind her, eyes zipping around the air-conditioned space as she hid inside it. Then she heard the door open and click behind him. This is ridiculous, Bonnie thought as her breath accelerated. Bonnie you're being outrageous.

Before she could gather her thoughts and master the courage to face him, her door flew open and there he was the big bad vampire.

"What do you want?"

"I want my shirt back" he said pressing closer to her.

"Is that all?" she breathed out. Everything swelled around her and the persistent buzzing in her ears felt like she was trapped in a vacuum.

"It's my favourite shirt" he said with his hands firm around her buttocks. Before she knew what was happening, Kol was lifting her off the flecked granite floor and pinning her against the stall with her legs gripped tightly around his lean hips.

"And there's the issue of your breakfast bill" Bonnie said with a sharp gasp.

"Yes Bonnie, "he breathed into her ear "you owe me plenty"

"I can't…we shouldn't"

"Hmm?"

"I-I…uh…I can't do this"

"You already have darling," he nuzzled the side of her neck "quite a few times"

"Kol…I...I…Kol, please"

"I love it when you say my name"

"Kol…"

"I love the way it tastes on your lips "he murmured trailing his warm tongue along her bottom lip as if to taste the rum still lingering there.

"I love the way it feels on your tongue" he groaned sweeping his tongue against her tongue. Kol hoisted her up as he sank to his knees, her legs clamped around his shoulders. Bonnie's eyes snapped shut, an involuntary response as she felt his warm breath dance on her quivering flesh. S sharp groan escaped her lips as she felt his teeth gently graze her shuddering thighs. Bonnie rocked her hips toward Kol, aching for more.

She waited, waited for his mouth to envelope her, waited for his tongue to stroke and tease the smouldering part that yearned for him and then her eyes sprang open. She sucked in her bottom lip as she felt something cold and sticky on the inside of her thigh. Kol was scribbling something on her heated skin.

"What are you-?"

Her eyes darted to her open bag and she realized that he was holding her red lipstick.

"I'm writing down my number"

"Your number?" she asked in a haze of lust not quite comprehending what was happening.

"If you want me, " Kol said untangling her weak legs from his neck and rising to his feet "You'll call me" he said with a deep growl.

xXx

As the Havana sun crawled higher in the sky, the hotel pool filled up with more boisterous kids with their parents looking on and drinking too many strawberry daiquiris. Bonnie touched the cold glass against the side of her face feeling the heat of the sun on her legs. It was ferociously hot, hot and sticky with the blistering sun licking at her painted toes.

She peered at her phone for the umpteenth time, still toying with the idea of calling Kol. She'd gone cold turkey for exactly two days. It felt like a century. Bonnie was already addicted to the idea of him and the idea of a reckless summer in Cuba.

"Isn't he lovely?" Caroline mewled with heavy lidded eyes as she pulled a pineapple daiquiri from swizzle straw.

"Who?"

"The barman"

"You like the barman now?"

"Yes I like the barman now"Caroline said twisting on her striped sunbed to face Bonnie. "Tao, the ridiculously hot barman!" she cried jerking her head in the direction of the Tiki bar.

"And tomorrow it will be Don Juan, the pool guy"

"What's with you?" Caroline tilted her head peering at her friend through her long painted lashes " sand in your –?"

"Don't you dare!"

"You should do yourself a favour and call Kol, you know you want to"

"Says who?"

"Bonnie you've been moping around the hotel for two days" she leaned back crossing her glistening legs "call him and go get your medicine"

"He's a vampire" Bonnie said watching the bartender, her limbs sun soaked and heavy as she watched him line up shots glasses and fill them with shots of white rum and drops of lemon juice. Suddenly, she wanted whatever it was that he was mixing.

"He's a what?"

"He's a vamp" she said vaguely, eyes fixed on the barman and his hand as he topped up the short glasses with chilled champagne.

"That's so hot" Caroline said licking her lips, mouth curling into a quirky grin "how was the sex?"

"Caroline" Bonnie chuckled, rolling her eyes.

"Come on, give me something" she cried slamming her glass on the small glass table, legs swinging over the sunbed "Is it Bill and Sookie sex, Eric and Sookie sex ?" she giggled bouncing in her seat" or is it hot nasty Tara and Franklin sex?"

"It's Bonnie and Kol sex"

"You got to give me something here Bon" she chewed on her bottom lip, slipping loose strands behind her flushed ears.

"I'm going to the bar" Bonnie chuckled rising to her feet and tying a white kaftan over her salmon pink bikini.

"I hate you!" Caroline laughed catching up with her and throwing her arm around Bonnie's shoulder.

Xxx

Three days later Bonnie was standing in the middle of Kol's lounge, right on the spot that still had most of its green linoleum flooring. The heat seemed to be seeping into her skin, his stirring fan doing nothing to cool her down. It was also the first time she noticed the murals, large bycle canvasses leaning against his red shedding wall. The black candle stubs were packed away and in their place stood a vase of bright yellow daisies that looked too disconcerting for the irregular space.

"You cleaned up, " Bonnie said turning to Kol.

"No. I tidied up darling," he shrugged his shoulders "there's a difference"

"Nice pieces" she said motioning toward the artwork with her chin.

"Well, they're not Rembrandts" he grinned with a wink, "What's in the bag?" he thrust his chin toward the plastic bag in her hand.

"Breakfast, I thought I'd save you the trouble"

"So, you're spending the night?" he asked looking widely amused.

"You don't want me to?"

"I'm glad you came" Kol said taking the plastic nag from her and setting it on the table.

"I'm not this girl, Kol" Bonnie spun round to face him, her hands digging deep into the front pockets of her jeans.

"But you want to be" he said striding to her and she stood motionless, waiting.

"Why did you call?" Kol cocked his head "why did you come?"

"I don't know" she whispered shutting her eyes.

"You do know" he said sagging down into the rotting couch, slipping his hands behind his head.

"Now that you have me here Bonnie, what are you going to do with me?"

Bonnie took in a sharp breath, thrusting out her chin before sauntering toward him. With her eyes steadily holding his gaze, her teeth grazed her bottom lip as the maddening butterflies raged inside her. She stopped in front of him, hovering over him with her bare legs brushing against his dishevelled jeans. The touch shot up her spine, snaking around her neck and burning its way down to her warm groin. She was aching to kiss him, to taste him and to feel the weight of him on her body.

Kol waited, his scintillating brown eyes watching her. Nervously, Bonnie unbuttoned her denim shorts in haste, hands trembling at the magnitude of the moment.

"Slowly, ' Kol directed "tease me"

Bonnie witnessed the dip of his Adam's apple and the clench of his jaw before he emitted a deep groan. She slipped off the short shorts and kicked them to a spot next to his feet. Kol's brown eyes crawled over her flushed caramel thighs, her white lace thongs to the bare breasts perking out for him. His hands slipped up the back of her thighs crawling toward her rounded buttocks.

"You're beautiful, " he said as Bonnie dipped her head to meet his. Her hair tickled his neck, her nose grazed his, her eyelashes dusting his cheeks before her lips swept across his. Kol drew her closer deepening his kiss and entangling his arms around her shivering body until she was straddling him. He tried to lift her up, getting the idea of carrying her to his bedroom.

"No, " Bonnie breathed into his ear as she unzipped his jeans "I want you here on the couch" she whispered before reclaiming his sweet tender mouth.


	3. Chapter 3

They said that great loves stayed with you. Bonnie couldn't really attest to that theory but what she did know was that great sex seeped into your flesh, unsettled your bones and clung to every inebriated fibre of hair in your body until you wore your lover's soul within you.

That's how she felt about Kol in the days that she had enjoyed him. She wore his skin, draped herself with it, she breathed for him as he breathed for her.

Symbiosis.

She hadn't left his apartment in days. She'd become lost in it, vanished inside its panels, beneath the slivers of its timber floors. She'd fallen between its cracks, disappeared inside its walls, its window panes. She dissolved in the droplets of water from its dripping rusted faucets. She wilted in the slivers of acid light from its blue wooden shutters. It had consumed her, raptured her completely. The city liquefied into oblivion, crumbled into a yellow summer and they hid inside the folds of his apartment.

Kol had forgotten the shape of the city streets, their smell and their texture. He had relinquished his claim to the city. He'd renounced, surrendered his inheritance to his Havana.

"Can I keep you?" he murmured raking his paint stained fingers through her tousled curls.

"I need to go…my friends," she whimpered as he lifted her chin with a finger, brushing his soft lips against hers.

"So, what's your story?" she purred, casting a gaze at him through a fringe of eyelashes as Kol retreated back to his position against the pillows.

His hand did a slow caress down her leg as he lay on his side. They were facing opposite directions; her head right by his legs and it suddenly occurred to her that they could perform the perfect sixty nine from this angle. Her big toe now playing with his nipple and his lips were curved into an amused smile.

"I don't have one" he replied lazily, his eyes never leaving her face.

"You seem to know a great deal about me"

"Yes, I know you're Bonnie Bennett. I know you attend Georgetown law in DC and I know you're staying in Old Havana" he bit his lip as she flicked his nipple with her toe.

"See a great deal" she chuckled, pressing her foot harder against his chest.

"What do you want to know," he finally asked as a big grin lit up his face. It was a grin that looked like it had broken a string of hearts and here she was a lowly law student, dangling at the end of that very string.

"Everything," she giggled, dipping her toe into his mouth, teasing his lips with it. Kol took the bait by swirling his warm tongue around her toe, sucking it into his mouth. He slid it in and out, in and out making her breath hitch as his teeth grazed her tender skin. Bonnie moaned softly as he gripped her ankle dragging her firmly toward him.

"Bonnie…" he groaned kissing each knee before lowering himself over her. Bonnie draped her arms around his neck, pressing her lips to his as their breath mingled in a desperate kiss. The kiss was long, demanding and bruising. His hands knotted into her hair, pulling as their lips crushed, teeth grazed and tongues tangled in a frantic fever.

"Stay, "his voice caught as he pulled back to gaze into her eyes, shattering everything she had once believed about fate and about herself.

\---oOo---

The house always wins.

Bonnie knew this before the white double doors to their hotel suite opened. Nothing was fixed forever. Nothing was constant. The ground could give way underneath you completely at any time because fate was always in control. She was frightened, petrified of the floating sensation she developed whenever she said his name, whispered his name and prayed his name. She was no longer numb but she felt everything. Everything swallowed her up, this fear, this anxiety and this knowing that she Bonnie Bennett was falling in love with Kol Mikaelson, a vampire.

Her breath caught abruptly as the wide polished doors came undone.

The house always wins.

"Marcel" she breathed his name as though she was drawing out all the color from Havana.

Her pulse raced and her heart punched hard against her wheezing chest, hard enough to shatter her eardrums. He looked weathered, worn and his broad shoulders had tapered slightly but his muscles were still evident underneath the black shirt that clung to his hard chest.

"I don't care where you've been or what you've been doing" he croaked in a shallow voice as he framed the doorway "but I'm here. I'm here for you"

"You shouldn't be here" Bonnie muttered, squeezing past him.

"I was a coward and I’m sorry that I hurt you "he grabbed her by her forearm" but a man doesn't run away from his responsibilities. He doesn't run away from his home and you are mine” he said as she twisted free of his grip massaging her marked arm.

"Bonnie you're my family" he insisted, fists clenched at his sides for fear of touching her again.

"What, you're here to win me back?' she spat at him, the adrenalin rushing through every part of her veins "newsflash you cheated, YOU CHEATER!" her lips quivered when she felt the sting of bitter tears burning her eyes.

"No. I'm not here to win you back. I'm here to love you back" Marcel said softly, closing the gap between them.

"Screw you, I don't want it. Keep your sorry love Marcel. Keep it" she screamed, fits pounding his hard chest repeatedly.

He stood  there, unmoving and taking. He took it all, all her rage and all her insecurities. He took all her self- pity, her anger and her hate toward him. She had so much hate inside her and he felt it in her shuddering bones, saw it her bawling eyes. As her rage mounted, hurling glass vases at the walls and ripping apart everything that she could get her hands on, Marcel retreated. He sat down leaning forward in the chair and observed everything.

He watched the colour disappear from her beautiful face as she crashed to the ground, chest heaving and fists clenched around her shaking knees.

"Where are my friends?" she probed taking large gulps of hot air in attempt to steady herself.

"They flew back to the states a few days ago" he spoke quietly, his eyes fixed on her.

"I'm not going back with you" she shook her head, feeling the calmness of her thinning breath.

"You're staying in Havana?" he sounded oddly amused with this revelation.

"Just for the summer" she pushed the hair back from her face wiping her drenched cheeks.

"You think you're in love is that it?" he quipped, easing back against the chair.

"My life is no longer your concern-"

"You think you're in love with Kol?"

Her red rimmed eyes shot up at him, wild and uncertain.

"You think Kol Mikaelson loves you too?"

"How do you-?" she searched his face through her fog, the heels of her hands managing to clear some of the haze.

"When you're done, "Marcel sighed rising up from his chair "meet me in DC" he placed a large white envelope and a glittering diamond ring on the bed next to her. She watched him walk over to the wide doors with slow, hesitant steps. Slowly he opened the doors and turned around to look at her slumped on the white floor leaning against the white wall with glass shattered and scattered all around her.

"I love you" he said with a fiery declaration before shutting the doors behind him.

Gingerly, hands quaking she opened the envelope to reveal an airline ticket back to Washington DC and a picture of her in bed with Kol. The next picture made her jump out of her skin. It was a blurry image of Kol Mikaelson with one hand holding a bottle of champagne and the other draped around Marcel's shoulder. It had been taken last year at the governor's ball. Bonnie recognized the party decorations because she had been Marcel's date that night.

The ground gave way beneath her and she fell down into the bottomless rabbit hole.

\---oOo---

This was not the end. This was not even the beginning of the end. Slowly Bonnie stumbled to her feet and staggered across the hotel room careful not to step on the broken glass scattered all over the white floor. She was still in a foggy daze as she removed Kol's white shirt and rumpled blue jeans folding them gently and setting them on the bed. She could still smell him on her skin, taste him in her mouth. She stood there naked, letting the sun soak into her skin. She wanted to immerse herself in the little pleasures that she still had left. She listened to the buzz of that big red sun dipping into a dazzling periwinkle sea, the hissing heat permeating the air around her and the rumble of laughter coming from the Tiki bar somewhere in the hotel.

How long had Marcel been watching her? How long had he kept all the sordid details of her love affair? How did Marcel know Kol and had Kol known about her? Had Kol met her before…did he know that she had once belonged to Marcel? She reached for her mobile phone, fingers jittery as she dialled Kol's number. It rang three times, exactly three times before a voice that was four decimals higher than Kol's answered, it was a woman.

Bonnie drew in a long rattling breath before hanging up. It could have been a wrong number; it had to be a wrong number. She rummaged through the closets for something to wear, anything. She had to see Kol. Slipping on a checkered wrap-dress, she grabbed her purse and made for the door not bothering to untangle her sloppy bun. She probably looked a mess, she thought feigning a smile at the concierge when she stepped out into the lobby. Her cheeks were tearstained, her eyes burned but she didn't care one bit. She had to see Kol because nothing else mattered but knowing.

Nothing.

As the vintage taxi cab passed Havana's crumbling vibrant structures, she held back the tears. She clenched her trembling jaw and tightened her mouth to hold back the damn waterworks. She wouldn't break. She wouldn't let them break her. Then as the car rounded up a dilapidated curve driving under a mosaic of clothes hanging out to dry, she saw the waiting taxi cab outside of Kol's pink eighteenth century apartment building. Everything was pink, so damn pink from the waiting Cadillac to the suitcase Kol carried as he approached the waiting taxi to the blonde already seated inside the cab in a pink dress. Bonnie was already out of her taxi cab as Kol opened the door to the Cadillac.

He stopped, looked over across the street at her but she couldn't see his eyes through the dark sunglasses. The twilight played tricks on his muddy blonde hair again. Bonnie waited, breath baited and not knowing what to expect. This man had tasted her mouth only several hours ago, been inside her and had shared every part of his soul with her and now he stood there unaffected. Before Bonnie could think, before she could act, Kol climbed into the Cadillac.

He was gone.

\---oOo---

When she landed in Washington, the first thing she did was to call her mother because Abigail was the only person she could face. Abby picked her up and took her to Georgetown to collect her things from her dorm room. Thankfully Elena wasn’t around to question her about Havana or about Marcel. They drove around for a while before ending up at a restaurant along the waterfront.

The wind picked up, a chill crawling up the back of Bonnie’s neck and rushing down to her arms, prickling her skin. She could smell the brackish water; see the tornado of ripe yellow lights from the passing boats.

"You should probably slow down on the tequila" Abby said after Bonnie had finished taking her second shot.

"Don't do that, "Bonnie shook her head, leaning back on the rattan seats outside the seafood restaurant, her mouth bitter from the tart lemon, "don't do that motherly thing please. It's always so unflattering on you"

"Listen, how about we go home and have a few glasses of wine, "she said softly brushing Bonnie's hand "then we can really talk"

"How about we go home and I drink the bottle and go to bed?"

"This is not healthy Bonnie"

"And you're the expert on what's healthy?" Bonnie scoffed throwing back another shot between her gulps of long island iced tea.

"We often lose ourselves in the people we love-"she lamented, giving her daughter a half-smile.

"Just stop!" Bonnie screamed startling her mother who immediately fell back against her seat crossing her legs and straightening the crease of her white trousers.

"I didn't call you here to play this Dr Phil role. You're not here to be an Oprah!" she yelled, rising to her feet, "I need to you to be quiet…I need you to just sit still with me and be quiet." She closed her eyes, battling the tears.

"Please" Bonnie finally whispered her face crumpling as Abby came in for a big bear hug. Abigail began humming; swaying gently and Bonnie gave in as she crumbled in her mother's arms.

\---oOo---

Three days later, she felt sane enough to meet the girls for sundowners.

"A little known fact about Georgetown, "Caroline purred, slurping up her cranberry and vodka cocktail with a straw, “is that Elizabeth Taylor used to live here when she was married to her senator. "

"Is that so?" Elena smiled, peering over Caroline’s shoulder to look at the autobiography that lay open on the table littered with fries and burgers. "I just can't recall his name but-" the blonde plucked a French fry from a heap and nibbled on it.

"John Warner," Bonnie replied starring out into the vast street to the blur of moving traffic. She smelled it again, that saltwater scent before she saw the crashing waves and heard that hissing sun. Bonnie Bennett you're hallucinating, she told herself as a server came to take their drinks order.

"What happened to you back in Havana? You just vanished and-"

"Marcel knows about Kol" Bonnie announced, cutting Elena off.

"He does?" Caroline’s blue eyes widened and she unconsciously leaned over the table.

"He has evidence, "Bonnie choked on the term before correcting herself "he has pictures."

"What pictures?"

"Pictures of me and Kol of course" she looked at her friends incredulously, "I think he's been stalking me"

"Marcel is a lot of things but he's hardly a stalker. I'm sure there's an explanation"

"Since when are you on Team Marcel?" Bonnie cocked an eyebrow at Caroline who was sprinkling even more salt on the pile of French fries.

"I'm Team Bonnie but…" she shrugged fidgeting with her straw "Marcel cares about you, that's why he came all the way to Cuba"

"I'm not sure about that. I think he came to Havana to spy on me"  Bonnie hugged her mojito before taking another hearty sip.

"Jeez Bon, you're not still hung up on the vamp are you?" Elena looked at her suspiciously making Bonnie’s blood rush.

"No" she quickly replied and shook her head, raising her hands.

"Good 'cause what happens in Havana stays in Havana" Caroline winked whirling around in her seat to seize her drink from the tray as the waiter returned with their orders. Bonnie chewed her bottom lip knowing fully well that whatever happened in Havana had followed her home. She couldn’t stop thinking about Kol and she wasn’t sure she was let him go.

\---oOo---

The following day, after much pestering from Marcel, she decided to see him. She turned into the parking lot and pulled into a space in front of Marcel’s night club slash restaurant. She sucked in a breath as she checked her make-up in the review mirror. The butterflies in her belly were waging with anticipation. She hadn’t seen her ex-fiancé since that fateful day when he’d ceremoniously cheated on her. Picking up her purse from the passenger seat, she climbed out of her truck and strode toward the entrance of the building with its wide metal doors.

The space inside was composed of industrial lights, low ceilings with wood beams and exposed red brick walls. As she climbed the staircase leading to the restaurant portion of the club, she passed a floor to ceiling wine cellar on her left but Marcel merely used that to decorate the space. When she swung her eyes up, she saw Marcel at the top of the stairs standing with a wide-legged stance and his arms crossed against his chest.

"Will you walk into my parlour? Said the spider to the fly" Marcel whispered pressing his warm lips against her earlobe as he drew her to him.

"Damn cunning spider" Bonnie replied feeling his nimble fingers trace the dip of her spine.

"Pretty little fly" he smiled as he ushered her deeper into the restaurant.

The space upstairs was a direct contrast to the club downstairs. Daylight splashed across the hardwood floors, bouncing off the gilded mirrors on the whitewashed walls. A breeze from the open French doors leading out to the sunny terrace lifted her hair off her face. Marcel opened up a chair for her, his gaze crawling over her blue chiffon dress. Her eyes wandered around the heavily prepared table. Marcel had a bottle of Krug champagne chilling inside an ornate ice bucket, a healthy helping of caviar on ice and a bouquet of white roses to match his décor.

"I hear you have a new address," he purred grinning into his whiskey glass, "1301 Thomas Circle"

"You are where you live" Bonnie smirked rolling her eyes. She wasn't surprised that Marcel already knew about her change of address, he was a man to whom information came by easily.

"You look a little underdressed," he said glancing down at her naked ring finger.

With a half shrug, she gave him a smug smile and replied, "It's a new look I'm trying out"

"You've always been pragmatic Bonnie," he smiled, beckoning a waiter "it's always been one of your charms."

"Don't change that," he murmured leaning closer to her "wear the damn ring"

They paused glaring at each other as the waiter opened the champagne bottle with a saber before filling up her crystal glass.

"Were you stalking me in Havana?" she asked, considering her glass of champagne with a curious look. The change of topic took him by surprise and he leaned back into his chair again, crossing his legs. He took a sip of his whiskey, rattling the ice cubes inside the glass.

"No. I was having you followed" he confessed with a sigh.

"Right because that is so natural, not creepy at all"

"It was for your own good"

"And having pictures taken of me was also for my own good?" she smirked, "Or are you into voyeurism nowadays?"

"I do like to watch, "he grinned with a twinkle in his narrowed eyes "but the pictures were a gift"

"A gift?"

"An anonymous gift, someone thought your little Caribbean interlude would be of interest to me"

"You're lying"

"It's the reason I came to Cuba sweetheart, "he took another sip, his eyes never leaving hers "to rescue you"

"How do you know Kol Mikaelson?"

"You don't need to concern yourself with that"

"I want to-"

"Let it go, "he sneered through gritted teeth before composing himself "Kol Mikaelson is a dangerous man. Promise me you'll stay away from him"

Bonnie nodded for his amusement. How could she not stay away from Kol, she had no idea where he was. He'd vanished into thin air and her only lead to Kol's whereabouts had been Marcel.

"I'm glad you called. I've missed you" he said, reaching out to touch her hand and Bonnie fisted her own hand underneath his. She stared at his hand resting on her fist and swallowed hard. Perhaps it was time to let go of the illusion that had been Kol, Bonnie thought watching as Marcel's thumb stroked her hand. She had known nothing about Kol, nothing about his family, where he grew up, what his childhood pet had been…nothing. Marcel and she had history and that had to count for something. Yes, he had cheated but perhaps her father was right and that Marcel was redeemable.

"I need time" Bonnie said dragging her eyes to meet his. He grinned like a Cheshire cat as she got up to gather her purse. Escorting her out of the restaurant, she felt a chill crawl up her spine and shuddered not entirely sure if it was his hand on her lower back or the breeze blowing through the open French doors in the restaurant.

"Take care, sweetheart" he murmured capturing her face in his hands. His glittering eyes roamed her face settling on her slightly parted lips. His breath whispered across her cheek as he inched closer. Bonnie's lips tightened as time seemed to crawl between his lips wanting and needing to kiss her.

"I have to go, "she said in a hastened gasp. She flew down the stairs, scuttling across the stark space before she stopped. She wasn't sure at first if it had been her eyes playing tricks on her; maybe she was beginning to hallucinate. Slowly she turned and retraced her steps and there in the middle of Marcel's red-brick walls was a large bicycle canvas. It was the same type of canvas that had rested against Kol's wall in Havana.

She squinted to make out the scribble on the lower left side of the painting.

Kol Mikaelson.

The dissonance of laughter in the restaurant upstairs disappeared. Everything shut and yanked her into a spiralling light, an acid light where nothing else existed but the pounding of her heartbeat and the drumming in her ears. She let out a long breath. The world resumed again.

The first sound she heard was a soft clatter of heels on the hard-wood floor growing louder as it approached her, the chatter started up again drowning Beethoven's sixth symphony.

"It's a lovely piece" Bonnie commented not bothering to turn around. She could smell Davina's cloying scent of papaya as she settled beside her. She had known her as long as she had known Marcel. Davina was like Marcel's rib, they were joined at the hip and she would have been envious were it not for the brunette's gentle demeanour.

"Yes, it is" she agreed, standing behind Bonnie.

"Who's the artist?" Bonnie held her breath as she tensed in anticipation.

"Kol Mikaelson" Davina replied coolly oblivious to what this name meant to Bonnie whose heart was beating so fast that she had began suck air into her lungs with shallow breaths. For a moment she said nothing, scared that this was all a dream that could vanish into thin air.

"Do you know where I can get his work?" she finally asked, her voice croaking at the magnitude of this moment. "He's not a commercial artist. This piece was a special gift for Marcel"

Everybody just loved giving gifts around Washington didn't they, she thought touching the piece. It was Christmas in July throughout the city.

"So, he's a friend of Marcel's?" she asked as she traced the lines of the bicycle, her fingers tingling with electricity.

"You could say that" Davina said with a flicker in her big eyes.

"Have you met him before?"

"I have-"

"Davina!" They both turned to look up at the swarthy plucky man beckoning Davina from the head of the staircase.

"Thierry" Bonnie nodded much to the disapproval of Marcel's business partner.

"I have to go, it's good seeing you again Bonnie," Davina grinned, patting Bonnie’s shoulder "welcome back"

"It's good to be back" Bonnie declared starring back at the painting.

Marcel was hiding something and she was determined to find out what that something was.

\---oOo---

"I need help finding an artist…at least I think he's an artist." Bonnie yelled shielding her eyes and squinting up at Stefan," He could just be some crazy nomad who likes tapas and parrots" she added, tying her hair up into a messy topknot. She had invited herself on his little sailing trip around the river so that she could get advice from a male friend.

"Why don't you just Google the guy?" Stefan yelled as he unfurled the mainsail.

"You think I haven't tried that Einstein?' -"she shook her head as she steered between the rows of moored boats toward the river tide.

"You could just ask your mother, if anyone can find this guy its Abby Bennett"

"My mother's team researches politicians who are on trial and terrorists or whatever, "she licked her lips, elbow resting on the helm as she glared at him.

"And you think that I can help?"

"I know you can"

"You're obsessed with this man" he toyed with a pair of ropes and placed them inside his backpack "Elena told me all about him"

"Yes. I am" she laughed zipping up her red parka, the wind was picking up as they ventured deeper into Potomac River. "All I've done these past few weeks is talk about him. I wake up thinking about him, I dream about him. I obsess about his every thought, his everything"

"And you're no longer in love with Marcel?" he searched the bag for a bottle of wine and pulled it out along with a pair of wine glasses.

"Should I be? I should really try, go to couple’s therapy and try and regain what we had…"

"But you don't want to"

"I don't know if I can. He broke us and ...and”

"What?" Stefan inquired now struggling with the wine cork.

"Something broke in me, shifted when I was in Cuba"

"A sexual awakening…I'm guessing" he winked finally popping out the cork. He sniffed the wine in the bottle before pouring it into the waiting glasses.

"It was more than that Stefan" she began, taking the glass of wine from him, "Why did you forgive Elena?" she asked.

"I forgave her because I couldn't take not forgiving her" he shrugged, swirling the wine as he neared the rudder.

"You couldn't live without her?"

"No. I can live without her but I don't want to" he said sinking his nose in the glass to breath the wine again before taking a sip. There it was again, Bonnie thought watching Stefan.

Choice.

True love couldn't be about choice though. You cannot walk away from true love, it binds you

. ---oOo---

When she left Stefan’s boat after a long afternoon, she walked back to her, cheeks warm from the wind and wine.

"Miss Bennett, I presume"

Bonnie took a moment to size the woman up as she leaned against her rusted old truck. The same trusted truck she'd worked three summer jobs slumming it in small law firms across Washington DC much to her parent’s dismay. The woman was short but not what one might call petit and she had long flaxen hair which was currently splayed across her shoulders like a wheat field in Alabama.

"Can I help you?” Bonnie frowned as she neared her car.

"I'm here for a little chit chat" the blonde grinned drumming her fingers against her folded arms.

"Whatever it is you're selling, I'm not interested"

"You're disgustingly pure; I can see why he fancies you" she said examining her manicure.

"Ok, I'll bite. Who are we talking about?' Bonnie shifted her weight to one leg, tugging a damp strand of her behind her ear.

"You kind of remind of her" the blonde continued looking up now. Still toying with Bonnie like a petulant child playing with her food.

"And who might that be?" She indulged her.

"Marcel's dead ex-girlfriend "she rolled a shoulder tossing back her brilliant hair. Bonnie's stomach dipped, her heart pounding rapidly.

"And you are?" That sinking feeling came to her even as she asked the question. Havana. The pink Cadillac. The blonde in the backseat.

“Allow me to re-introduce myself, the name’s Rebekah” Bonnie gaped down at the blonde's hand, glaring at the red and gold leaflet she held. She noticed the daylight ring on her finger and realized that the blonde was also a vampire. It would be so easy to pull the right off her finger right now and watch the bitch burn in the sunlight. Rebekah flicked the glossy paper once with her manicured finger and Bonnie's eyes hurled back at her face.

"Go on, don't play coy, take it" Rebekah persisted with her smile.

"What is it, your calling card?" Bonnie quipped, cocking her head "Hookers are us?"

"Ooh, saucy" Rebekah shrieked and chortled "you're not so pure after all ha?" she smiled nodding vigorously.

"I like you snarky, makes me all warm and tingly inside" Rebekah squirmed with a giggle before a marine bird startled both of them as it swooped into the water to capture prey.

"I'm a lawyer in training; snark is part of my charm"

"I wonder, did you ever show this side to Kol or were you too busy enjoying your sexual awakening?" Rebekah tossed her hair to one side, toying with the decorated leaflet in her hand.

"Don't you dare bring up his name!"

"What's the matter Bonnie can't forgive and forget?" she gasped catching her bottom lip between her teeth before a slack cackle escaped her mouth

"Come to my party, you might just be in for in for a surprise or two" she added balling up the invitation with her hand and throwing it inside Bonnie's truck through the half-open window.

"Give my regards to Marcel, "Rebekah yelled, waving at her.

Bonnie followed her with her eyes before climbing back into her truck. She sat inside for a while, her hands strangling the steering wheel as she tried to ease her breathing. Finally she started up the engine and drove home.

When she got to Abby’s apartment, she dropped her car keys on the coffee table and entered the sun flooded apartment. She locked the heavy iron door behind her, assembling the code again before slumping back against the wide door with a belly aching groan. Her sea legs were heavy on the polished Maplewood floor, sneakers squishing against the floorboards. The sky peered between DC's grey gaunt rooftops, gleaming golden in the late afternoon light. She caught sight of a flurry of grey pigeons dipping and dancing between sunlight scattered rooftops and bounded for the big stylish kitchen. She was parched and irritated, peeved about the blonde vampire and the growing web of lies that everyone was spinning around her. She knew that Washington was a network of dirty businessmen and even dirtier politics but she never expected for that life to taint her private life not even with a governor as a father-in-law.

"Abby?" she called for her mother and sighed at the lack of response. Her mother was probably still at the office or possibly enjoying a vintage bottle of wine and rib-eye steak at Komi. Abby was loathed to admit it but she went to the restaurant for their wine pairings and nothing else, never mind their ten course meals and top grade Greek chefs. Happy thoughts Bonbon, think happy thoughts, she tried to smile as she rummaged through the expansive fridge for leftover tapas and a half bottle of wine.

"Think Havana, how's that for a happy thought?" she laughed aloud, pulling out a bottle of chardonnay from the Napa Valley and a Styrofoam box of fried oyster salad. She pulled open a drawer in the butcher-block island and took out a pair of eating utensils. Mounting the stairs, she cradled the takeaway and wine bottle in both hands, her handbag draped over her right arm and her feet falling in loud echoing thuds on the metal stairs. She was exasperated from the climb and kicked her bedroom door rather than open it. It snapped back and ricocheted back toward her before she halted its recoil with her left elbow, butt pushing into its dark wood.

"Hello, darling"

Bonnie was startled, her green eyes widening at his voice and his naked presence on her big, Nantucket-red sprawling bed. For some foreign reason she could hear the city rush downstairs, trucks hooting and town cars bleating, everything was loud and frenzied even the hasty buzz of electricity from the hairs sprouting up the back of her neck. She wanted to mime his name, not to utter the vowels for fear that they might disappear into the synthetic- air-conditioned space and with them, his flesh and his bones eradicating into nothing. Then it all came back to her, the anger, the rejection, the pink Cadillac and the blonde.

"This is it, your grand entrance?" Bonnie asked, setting her food on a table by the door "you, naked in my bed?"

"It always works on me" Kol drawled, not shifting from the languid position. Pressed up against a pile of red pillows, his taut tan stomach seemed to ripple as he spoke; breathing in and out with every shift of muscle and Bonnie tried very hard not to lick her lips. She tried impossibly hard not to do anything; she merely stood there, gaping and scowling at the same time.

"Well, not gonna work on me" she eventually said and thanked the heavens it didn't sound too croaky and crusty "You left me in Havana" she hissed, eyes narrowed and tracking his agile movement as he moved around in her bed.

“How did you get in anyway? I thought vampires couldn’t cross the threshold unless they were invited by the homeowner”

“Oh but I was invited by the homeowner. I must say, your mother’s quite striking” “

What have you done to my mother?”

“Relax darling, your other invited me in months ago, of course I was dressed as a delivery boy at the time. You should see me in uniform” “Yes, I bet you looked great in your gestapo uniform”

“A sense of humour, “he chuckled, his eyes sparkling “that’s new”

"Your girlfriend is here by the way and since you two are tied at the hip, it doesn't surprise me to see you here either" she snarled taking a step toward him. She wanted to scream, cry, grab, slap and hit him. All her feelings competed against each other, anger, love, hate, need; all these emotions drained her so much that they left her exhausted.

"She's not my girlfriend, darling" Kol smiled his infectious dimpled smile, dark eyes glowing and muddy blonde hair licking his bronzed forehead.

"She's not?" Bonnie stuttered, confused with a hesitant shake of her head.

"No. She's actually Marcel's little strumpet" he offered, rising from his languid position. He walked tall, tanned sinewy muscles shifting, jerking and jumping under his glowing golden skin "Oh and she just so happens to be my sister" he grinned, whirling around to face her, hands not bothering to cover his groin area.

"Rebekah's your sister?" Bonnie asked, screwing her eyes onto his too pretty face.

"Did you catch the part about her and Marcel or was that lost on you?" he teased, slipping a sharply creased thin grey sweater over his blonde head. He flicked his short hair back, executing the most deliciously relaxed grin with his lush lips.

"Im more interested in you and Marcel" she said trying to stay focused, angry black woman here Bonnie, try to play the part right.

"I do believe he's straight, although there was that incident in Venice with him and a viscount" Kol mocked, sliding into his snug Levi jeans, very very very commando.

"Are you friends?" she asked fixing his eyes on his face, anywhere but the spot he was buttoning too leisurely with his sluggish hands.

"Define friends" Kol said, a lazy smile spreading across cheeks, crinkling his eyes.

"Did you know about me before Havana?" Bonnie said very carefully, tucking strands of hair behind her ears.

"Yes. I knew of you" Kol said again with that lazy Havana smile, a boyish grin that had been constructed from crochet hammocks and too many rum and cola cocktails with native girls.

"Did you know what I looked like, did you scout me out?"

"Yes" he breathed, angling his face, eyes licking every inch of her. Suddenly Bonnie remembered his mouth slacked and breathing deep and easy like that while he'd been laying on top her.

"So you went to Havana to seduce me?" her hands stayed on her hips, chin thrust out to challenge him.

"I prefer the term romance," he smiled closing the gap between them "or charm perhaps?"

"Oh, you seduced me alright; you did a good job of it too" Bonnie stumbled back, almost bumping into the green reading lamp on her thick oak desk

"And what did you achieve Kol, my humiliation for your sister's pleasure?"

"My sister's pleasure?" he arched his eyebrows and grinned wickedly, “You have really bad listening skills, don’t you?”

"Yeah, don't the two of you have this sick Cruel Intentions thing going on?"

"Nah, darling" he laughed, throwing his head back "incest just isn't my cup of tea"

"Great, so why did you seduce me in Havana?" Bonnie spat, glaring at him now with deep seething eyes"

“Why did you spend your stupid holiday scouting me out?"

"Because Marcel asked me"


End file.
